Sandra Buchler

The chapter examines highly educated, high income couples in the countries in focus and where they fit in terms of gender ideologies and the labour force attachment of mothers. The majority of the women and men interviewed in this volume are found in this group. Employing the fourth wave of the European Values Study, I compare this group with the remainder of the population of each country. Results suggest that the couples in focus are likely to be more egalitarian, have more favourable attitudes towards women’s employment, and be less likely to believe that a woman’s central identity and worth should revolve around homemaking and children. They are also likely to display higher levels of maternal labour force participation (with the exception of Sweden). Overall, this chapter supports expectations that high-income, high-education couples are indeed in a unique position to rethink and renegotiate the traditional gender division of work.